Protect Me(28)

“Believe it or not, the bakery was more my style. There are tons of design companies down in Florida that cater to the wealthy vacationers and the retired, but I just never really felt like I fit in with them. I felt more at home in the kitchen than in the design studio.”

“What made you leave the kitchen?” I ask, anxious to hear her answers. Anxious to get to know her deeper. Praying that she’ll let me in.

“I was in a relationship and he didn’t want me to work,” she mumbles quietly.

My gut tightens at the thought of someone else holding Lia, touching Lia. But more importantly, I hate the way she says he didn’t want her to work. Like she’s not a woman capable of making her own decisions.

Rage - and a little jealousy - churns in my stomach like sour milk. I don’t know this guy, but I already hate him. “Doesn’t seem right, him not letting you work,” I say as casually as possible, though I’m pretty sure I failed.

“Yeah, well, when you’re rich and connected, you get used to everyone catering to you. Garrett was…” she looks over my shoulder as she desperately tries to come up with the right terminology. “Garrett was difficult,” she whispers as she stares off into the distance. Her eyes instantly change from the bright, blue-gray color that they normally are. Now, they appear darker, distant. And what hurts the most is that they are laced with fear and uncertainty.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up,” I tell her, desperately in need of a conversation redirect. “How was dinner last night? Did my family behave?”

“Dinner was great,” Lia says, the light slowly returning to her eyes. “You have an amazing family, Nate.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty cool. My niece and nephews are the fucking shit. I love spending time with them, getting them all sugared up, and then sending them back home to their parents,” I tell her with an ornery grin.

“Well, they are definitely cool. I watched your niece shovel her peas from her plate onto Travis’s plate without anyone realizing it,” Lia tells me.

I laugh hard at the image she just painted. My niece, Brooklyn, is definitely ornery, and I can see her getting away with much more than piling peas on someone else’s plate in the future.

Our waiter delivers piping hot platters of delicious food. My mouth is watering and my stomach is all but growling as I grab my fork. I haven’t eaten since I got home from work this morning. I’m starving.

Lia dives in with gusto, slathering her chimi with every ounce of guacamole on her plate. She takes a bite and her eyes close. A small smile crosses her content face as she savors the food in her mouth.

“Oh my god, you have to try this,” she says and pushes her plate towards me.

I cut off a small piece with my fork and shovel it in my mouth. The chicken is prepared to perfection and the cheese sauce has just enough spice to keep you coming back for more. And the guacamole…damn.

“That’s good,” I say as soon as I swallow. “Want a bite of mine?” I ask as I push my plate towards her.

Lia uses her fork to cut off a piece of my steak and chicken burrito. Just as she is about to lift her fork towards her mouth, she swipes it through my cup of sour cream. “There, now it’s perfect,” she says as she takes the bite.

I watch her chew, mesmerized by the movement of her jaw. I watch her delicious throat swallow the bite and I long to lick that damn neck again. Who knew eating dinner could be so fucking erotic.

“So, I have something I want to ask you,” I say in between bites of my burrito. “The twenty-fourth is my brother Jake’s wedding. I was kinda hoping that maybe you’d want to go with me,” I ask, praying that she can’t tell that my nerves have my throat dry and my stomach a little loopy. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with me?

“Um,” she starts but doesn’t really say anything. I can tell her mind is working a mile a minute and her nervous jitters have returned.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I say, trying to soften the blow that is coming my way.

“It’s not that, Nate. I just don’t usually date, is all.”

I look up into her beautiful eyes and gauge my response. She wants to go – or at least I think she wants to - but something is holding her back. Something is always holding her back. And I’ll be damned if I don’t vow to get to the bottom of it.

“We still have almost three weeks. Consider it an open invitation if you want to go, okay?”

“That sounds nice. Thank you,” she says with another small smile.

We finish off our dinner in relative silence. After I pay the bill, I take Lia by the hand and head towards the parking lot. Outside, there is little noise as most of Rivers Edge is home and locked up inside the cool confines of their houses. The humidity has been high for the last several days and doesn’t look like it’s going to be letting up anytime soon.